ÄIO and TFTAK secure USD 2.1M EIS grant to advance microbial oil production 

ESTONIA – Estonian biotechnology company ÄIO has emerged as the top-ranked recipient in the 10th funding round of the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency’s (EIS) Applied Research Programme.

The company has secured €1.94 million (USD 2.14 million) toward a €2.53 million (USD 2.78 million) three-year initiative to industrialise microbial oil production through digitalisation and automation. 

The project, titled DigiFoundry 2.0 – Bioprocess Efficiency Increase via Digitalisation (DF2.0), runs from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2029 and is being implemented jointly with applied research organisation TFTAK, building on the earlier DigiFoundry programme (2023–2026) that established a prototype for automated microbial strain design and a Design‑Build‑Test‑Learn cycle. 

DF2.0 aims to integrate strain engineering, improved fermentation, automation and digital process control into a single, scalable production platform for microbial oils and fats.

The overarching goal is to establish the technological foundation for efficient, scalable, and cost‑competitive production of ÄIO’s microbial oils while reducing development and manufacturing costs and accelerating the creation of new ingredients.

The initiative’s total budget stands at €2,531,405 (USD 2.79 million), with up to €1,944,909.40 (USD 2.14 million) provided through EIS’s Applied Research Programme (RUP), which is funded by Estonia’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications.

ÄIO’s platform uses specialised yeast fermentation to convert low‑value organic side‑streams from the food, agricultural and wood industries into high‑value oils and fats for cosmetics, food and other consumer products.

By replacing traditional oil crops and animal‑derived fats with precision fermentation, the company reports that its process can reduce land use by up to 97% and water consumption by up to 90% compared with conventional production methods. 

TFTAK, an Estonian privately owned research organisation focused on food and biotechnology innovation, continues as ÄIO’s R&D partner in DF2.0, having previously contributed to the Design‑Build‑Test‑Learn workflow, sensory analysis, and methods for evaluating microbial products, including identifying unwanted flavours and aromas in the first DigiFoundry project. 

In DF2.0, TFTAK will apply its expertise in synthetic biology, precision fermentation and bioprocess development to connect strain engineering with increasingly automated and data‑driven production.

Since its 2022 spin‑out from Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), ÄIO has progressed from lab‑scale fermentation to tonne‑scale production and is developing partnerships for larger‑scale manufacturing.

The original DigiFoundry programme supported the development of specialised microbial strains capable of producing tailored fats and oils, intended both for ÄIO’s own production and potential technology licensing.

DF2.0 expands that concept from the microorganism to the entire production process, aiming to create a platform that accelerates new ingredient development while lowering the cost of scaling to industrial volumes, aligning with ÄIO’s broader commercial plans to move toward broader commercial production and prepare for further investment rounds to fund facility scale‑up. 

The project’s key details include a duration from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2029, a total budget of €2,531,405 (USD 2.79 million), EIS RUP funding of up to €1,944,909.40 (USD 2.14 million), a consortium comprising ÄIO (äio tech OÜ) and TFTAK, and Mariane Barrier, Head of Commercial at ÄIO, as the primary contact. 

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